New Raffle

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Civil War was still raging, but the tide was turning against the Confederacy. Two hundred men from Iowa helped turn the Battle of Pea Ridge. Many of these men were from Southwest Iowa. The battle was lost, but the cost to the Rebels was so high they had to abandon their siege of St. Louis.

The History Center will be raffle a special edition High Standard Confederate pistol and matching knife. This will be a fund-raiser to help the History Center. Tickets are $5 each or six for $25 with only 300 tickets being sold. Our last winner was Martin Roche of Council Bluffs.

The drawing will be held when all tickets are sold or the week before Christmas.

Montgomery County and History Center

Humans first appeared in what we now call Montgomery County, Iowa about 11,500 B.C., during the Ice Age. At some time between 800 B.C. and 1000 A.D., semi-permanent villages formed, and agriculture began. European traders traveled through our area as early as 1650 A.D., and by 1847 the young U.S. government had pushed all Native American Tribes out of Southwest Iowa.

A trickle of white settlers began arriving during 1849, and Montgomery County was formally created in 1851. Farms, town governments, churches, schools, newspapers, banks, festivals, and all the other trappings of our modern life quickly developed.

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The Montgomery County Historical Society was organized in 1945 to preserve and share our county's history. During the 1980's, members met in the Pittsburg School, which they restored and preserved. In 1995, the Society opened its first History Center, and in 2006, the Gala Grand Opening of our present 14,000 sq. ft. building was celebrated.

Montgomery County History Center

Exhibits

Lecture Hall

New Volunteers

Lee and Fran Pleck

PRESERVING OUR COUNTY'S HISTORY

New Books!

Red Oak and Montgomery County has been getting a lot of press recently. It has appeared in 'Railroad History' magazine and a new book call "Noir Forties" just last year. For 2013, we have Helen Murphy's book, "The Day I Met Clark Gable" and at the end of March "A Tour Through Montgomery County History". Helen's book is a great piece of local history and an entertaining read; Dave McFarland's book (A Tour...) is a concise history of the county, it features new information, the story behind the story on a lot of stories we have heard for years, and even the true story behind some of those stories, plus a lot photos not seen in years. Both book are on sale at the History Center.

New Information Center

The History Center is constructing a new information center to be located in our lobby. Some of the things to be featured is a bulletin board for local events, a brochure rack, etc. But the forefront will be a special section recognizing those who have donated more than five thousand dollars to support the History Center. There will also be a section for annual sponsors and for corporate sponsorships.

Corporate Sponsorships- donate five hundred dollars and you will receive a membership to the Montgomery County History Center, which will include free admission, two tickets to an annual banquet, a signed copy of the our book A Tour Through the History of Montgomery County, a free ad on the information center and our website, and three free room rentals of the Paul McCoy Lecture Hall.If you maintain your sponsorship for ten years you will be recognized on our special section.